DOVER — Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Exeter Hospital and Portsmouth Regional Hospital are among 24 health care facilities in New Hampshire that received products from a compounding facility in Massachusetts linked with a fungal meningitis outbreak.

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

DOVER — Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, Exeter Hospital and Portsmouth Regional Hospital are among 24 health care facilities in New Hampshire that received products from a compounding facility in Massachusetts linked with a fungal meningitis outbreak.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a new list of sites across the state that have received products from New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass.

Only three sites in New Hampshire are thought to have administered the specific medication tied with the fungal meningitis outbreak, but a host of others have distributed different medications produced at the Massachusetts facility.

Investigators have not discovered evidence that other medications were contaminated, but public health officials are asking patients who received any medication from the compounding center to be aware of changes in their health.

The entrance of Portsmouth Regional Hospital is seen in this file photo.

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The new list includes all injectable drugs produced by the compounding center, as well as any ophthalmic drug used in conjunction with eye surgery and a cardioplegic solution — a solution that can be used in certain cardiac surgeries. The list was generated by the Food and Drug Administration, and circulated by the CDC.

Public health officials are asking the 24 health care providers to track down all patients who received medication from the Massachusetts facility linked with a meningitis outbreak.

The 24 sites on the list are said to be reviewing their records to find out if the medications were used to treat patients.

“We recognize that there is a great deal of confusion around the medications and who is at risk during this quickly evolving situation,” said New Hampshire's Public Health Director Jose Montero. “We do not yet have confirmation that other medications have been contaminated, but it is important that New Hampshire residents who received these injections be informed and watch closely for any change in their status possibly related to these drugs.”

Although it did receive one medication from the compounding facility under investigation because of the meningitis outbreak, Portsmouth Regional Hospital did not administer it to patients, according to spokeswoman Nancy Notis.

“We're on the list because we did receive one product, but it was never used on patients,” she said Friday.

Representatives from Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and Exeter Hospital could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

The contaminated medication tied with the fungal meningitis outbreak is primarily used to treat back pain. The three facilities in New Hampshire that received the medication are PainCare clinics in Somersworth, Newington, and Merrimack.

For patients who received back injections, symptoms to be aware of include headache, fever, nausea, neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, and signs of stroke such as weakness or numbness in any part of the body along with slurred speech.

Patients who received joint injections should report to their provider if they have local symptoms including increased pain, swelling, and redness or warmth at the site of injection.

Patients who had eye surgery should monitor for visual changes, pain, redness, or discharge from the eye. Patients who have had chest pain should monitor for chest pain or drainage from the surgical site.

Patients should contact their healthcare provider if they experience any of these signs or symptoms.

This investigation remains active and information on cases continues to be gathered in order to understand the extent of this outbreak.